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Albany, NY — The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility Joins Forces with Lt. Governor Donohue and State University of New York System to Stop Alcohol Misuse on College Campuses

Oct

30

2003

Albany, NY — To highlight the start of National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, Lieutenant Governor Mary Donohue, and the State University of New York System Administration announced the use of a dynamic new interactive CD-ROM program designed to help college students stop the misuse of alcohol on campus, Alcohol 101 Plus™.

At a press demonstration today at the State University of New York-Albany, Lieutenant Governor Donohue; SUNY's Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Life, Ed Engelbride, and Karen Hitchcock, President of the State University of New York at Albany; joined Susan Molinari, Chairman of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, to announce that the State University of New York (SUNY) will include the new program as part of SUNY's ongoing efforts to prevent campus alcohol problems among its 410,000 students attending 64 campuses. Developed by The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, a national not-for-profit organization funded by America's leading distillers, Alcohol 101 Plus is available free-of-charge and over 2,000 colleges and universities across the country have requested the program to-date.

Developed by The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, a national not-for-profit organization funded by America's leading distillers, Alcohol 101 Plus is available free-of-charge and over 2,000 colleges and universities across the country have requested the program to-date.

Set on a "virtual campus," Alcohol 101 Plus specifically targets at-risk populations of the student body: Freshmen, Greeks, student-athletes, and judicial policy offenders. Through interactive video scenarios users have an opportunity to make "virtual" decisions for "virtual" characters. For example, users can visit a first-year dorm and choose whether or not the freshman character takes a drink, or visit the off-campus bar and decide whether the basketball star should take a drink, days before "the big game." When the wrong decision is chosen on the virtual campus, students are presented with the consequences of their bad decision.

"The fact that 80% of freshman report that they have consumed alcohol in the past year, consuming nearly 6 drinks a week, is a fact of college life that must be countered with effective education. By systematically incorporating this CD into orientation programs, fraternity gatherings and athletic programs, we hope to have a significant influence on students' ability to make safe and responsible decisions about alcohol," said Molinari of The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. "We are proud to bring Alcohol 101 Plus to the State University of New York System, and we are confident that it will be an essential and effective tool in the fight against the misuse of alcohol."

"College officials know that confronting alcohol abuse on campus is a top priority. Alcohol 101 Plus is an important tool that will help us address this significant problem of alcohol abuse on campus. Alcohol 101 Plus enables us to have a workable strategy to help shape behaviors," said Lieutenant Governor Donohue. "I speak for our entire administration when I say we've embraced Alcohol 101 Plus and are proud to partner with The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility on this proven and effective alcohol education effort."

Representing an over million dollars investment, the creation of Alcohol 101 Plus brought about the broadest alcohol industry-government partnership designed to prevent the misuse of alcohol on college campuses including the U.S. Department of Education; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, more than 50 on-campus practitioners, student focus groups, as well as representatives from; National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); and The BACCHUS and GAMMA Peer Education Network.

Alcohol 101 Plus is designed to be user friendly, entertaining and informative. In addition to video scenarios and "pop-up" messages, the CD includes an interactive game developed by SONY, b4udrink, which tests a user's knowledge about how alcohol affects the body, friends and school, sex, and the truths and consequences of college drinking. The CD-ROM also includes a "Virtual Bar," where a user can "virtually" drink and obtain personalized information on the impact of alcohol on their individual blood alcohol concentration and a "Virtual Brain," which conveys information about the physical and mental affects of alcohol.

"While the percentage of students who reported daily drinking has declined by 41% proportionally from 1982 to 2000, we must continue to fight underage drinking and the misuse of alcohol to keep our students safe and alcohol-free. Cutting edge education tools, like Alcohol 101 Plus, can help coaches, teachers, and administrators help prevent underage drinking among college students. The entire campus community must become involved in this important fight," said Engelbride.

"The health and safety of our students must form the foundation of engaged learning. Therefore, it is essential that colleges and universities maintain state-of-the-art alcohol prevention programs," said University at Albany president Karen R. Hitchcock. "The Alcohol 101 Plus program offers opportunities to use technology as a means to educate college students about alcohol misuse."

The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility's mission is to promote responsible decision-making regarding drinking or non-drinking of beverage alcohol and to discourage all forms of irresponsible consumption through education, communications, research, law enforcement, and other programs. Recognizing over twelve years of progress, America's leading distillers, Allied Domecq Spirits & Wine North America, Bacardi U.S.A., Inc., Brown-Forman, DIAGEO, Future Brands LLC, and Pernod Ricard USA, have promoted The Foundation's mission by investing over $130 million in its programs to fight drunk driving and underage drinking. For more information about Alcohol 101 Plus or The Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility, or to order a copy of the program free-of-charge, please visit www.alcohol101plus.org or www.responsibility.org.